Hearing God

041 How to Pivot in Crazy Times

Suddenly our revenue got cut by $40,000. And my forecast for the next twelve months got thrown completely out of whack. When will I be able to have in-person events again? Will there be another outbreak in the fall? How do I budget and plan when I have no idea what to believe?

What do I do now?

Listen up as I process HOW I heard God, WHAT that meant, WHO I processed with for wisdom, ACTION step I took and the RESULTS that are giving us momentum in the MIDST of crazy times.

You can do the same!

How do we pivot?

1. Ask WISDOM, His Name is Jesus and He kind of knows everything…
2. Listen, turn aside and take time to actually hear…
3. Process with wise counsel…
4. Take action…
5. Repeat

How will you pivot?

Do this process for yourself. It’s free!

Join us on an upcoming virtual retreat. Find out more on HeaveninBusiness.com/events

Access one of our trusted advisors or talk to one of your own.

It’s entirely possible that we can ADVANCE IN ANY CIRCUMSTANCE. It’s not easy. It is POSSIBLE.

What will YOU do?

040 Slow Down to Speed Up

Everything is changing. Problem is, I don't know what the changes will end up like! Will I be back to 'normal' in a week? Not likely... I am used to running with vision. I love fast! I am often saying to someone who wants to talk with me, "Walk with me." We will talk as I walk to the next meeting or the car or some other task that needs doing.

Right now, I'm SITTING. And to top it off, I'm sitting AT HOME! I was born for freedom, not restriction. So how do I manage myself, my business, my life when everything is changing.

What am I learning! 

Listen in as I talk about how to slow down, how to be still and hear God and the surprising benefits as a result.

 

 

039 Get Up and Fight!

In this episode Ray Edwards and I talk through the current situation and how we feel 'bombed' and the resulting temptations of feeling powerless. But there is always something we can do. Here's what we are doing. What about you?

Grab your print or digital copy of Finding Hope in Crazy Times and receive the free audiobook on Amazon.com

038 How to Live with Uncertainty

I have more questions and uncertainty about next month than I did last week! At least when it was clear we were to 'shelter-in-place' for this month I had clear boundaries. Now everything is uncertain. Are we going back to the office next week? Can I have a BBQ with friends? Will there be live events in June? How do I budget the rest of the year? When will there be a vaccine... The list of questions endless!

One thing is clear... Life is not 'normal' and we are ALL LIVING WITH AN INCREASED MEASURE OF UNCERTAINTY. So how do you deal with it? How do you make decisions? 

I think I definitely have a degree (or at least a participation certificate!) in living with uncertainty! In 2008 we left the certainty of our home in New Zealand with my certain employment and my certain retirement and my certain circle of friends and family. I had no idea how much my life was beautifully controlled. Then we arrived in USA with nothing BUT uncertainty: uncertain income, uncertain immigration status, uncertain housing, uncertain future. 

That was more than ten years ago and we are still living with uncertainty... except now my circle of influence is much greater so more people can see my successes and failures in the process.

The uncertainty journey triggered a bunch of fear. It looked like anger and 'frustration' and insecurity and trying desperately to hold onto our savings - more akin to fruitless attempts to hold water in your hands.

The point is NOT ONCE did God let us down. It was scary. It was painful looking at how I responded. It was confusing. It was unstable. But I AM BETTER TODAY BECAUSE OF WHAT HAS COME OUT OF IT...(more so because of the faithfulness of God than any awesome decision making on my part).

So YOU are faced with more uncertainty that you realized. How will you deal with it? 

Here's your options from my experience and how I see it. 

1. Passive Surrender = "I have no control."

This looks like blame, accusation, powerlessness, ignorance and avoiding facing the issues. Ive done that. For spiritual people it will sound like "I'm just trusting God." For others it may sound like, "I can't do anything because...[fill in the excuse about some authority or circumstance that has seemingly taken away your power to decide] )"

Bottom line is you always have a choice. No choice is a choice to be powerless. Trusting God is not passive. Surrender to God (ie. trust) is ACTIVE and ENGAGED. It is not simply waiting for someone else to tell you what to do, but intentionally leaning in, looking around, doing what is in your hand and CHOOSING PRACTICAL HOPE. What CAN you do now? What WILL you do now?

2. Active resistance = "I'll take control."

This looks like reacting to what others or the authorities are saying by doing the opposite (rather than #3 below). It sounds like "You can't tell me what to do... I have rights!" So you sneak around or blatantly do something, usually only considering yourself and your immediate surroundings. Rarely does this response take into consideration others in the community, especially those less vulnerable.

It looks like me reacting to my situation of no income for three years by stressing and fussing and running around DOING STUFF rather than pausing and thinking through the situation and involving wise counselors and a thought-out plan. It looked like me focussed more on MY problems (and calling it 'responsibility') and having limited capacity or compassion for the people around me.

3. Wise decision making = "I am under control."

I think after ten years of uncertainty I MIGHT be learning this. Danny Silk says, "Freedom is telling yourself what to do and then doing it." It is SELF-control. In others words, I don't need the external world to govern me because I manage myself from an internal decision making process. 

This looks like hope in the middle of despair, peace in the midst of turmoil and thoughtful consideration in the middle of panic. It thinks long term and acts today. It takes into consideration how one's actions will affect the immediate AND wider community and follows through with a plan to the best of one's ability. It is not passive, but intentional action knowing that we cannot control the outcome anyway - we CAN CONTROL our behaviors moment by moment and we CAN give our best in every circumstance. It is a life of active surrender that takes responsibility for oneself but knows that the ultimate outcome is in the hands of God... and has absolute security in that.

There is always something you can do. There is always something in your hand that you can action. There is always someone you can be a voice of encouragement and wisdom to. 

So what will you do?

I just released a book that came out of the last ten years of our uncertainty. It's literally 30 different stories (good, bad and ugly) and how I anchored in hope through hearing God and applying this to a practical action step that resulted in wise decision making. I highly recommend you grab a copy and go through a chapter a day. It will cost you ten minutes and will CERTAINLY help you find practical hope in crazy times. 

Even better, grab a copy with a friend and walk through it together. That's what I'm doing with my friend Ray Edwards and we are doing it live every morning 7am PST. Join us at RayEdwards.com/Hope or watch the recordings on his facebook page.

037 How to Get Practical Wisdom for TODAY

How on earth do I know what to do today? In this episode I go behind the scenes giving you my process of how I hear God on a consistent basis that gives me PRACTICAL WISDOM and guides the decisions I make on a daily basis.

This was actually a conversation I had with Ray Edwards as part of our 30 Day Hope Challenge. Every day for thirty days, Ray and I connect at 7am PST on his facebook page and we dialogue over one chapter of my new book: Finding Hope in Crazy Times.

This particular day we called an audible. We didn't just dialogue over the chapter, but HOW I come up with the ideas, solutions, strategies and wisdom that BECAME the book. Actually it's my lifestyle.

And it was LIVE. I wasn't a scripted, planned out interview. It was simply, "This is what I do, this is how I do it, and this is what it means TODAY."

I trust you will enjoy the conversation and it will help you too!

036 How to Avoid Frustration

Welcome to the conversation. In this episode I talk through how I have been distracted and what I am doing about that. I have learned that there are two issues going on: 

1. Issues over which I have a direct influence and concern and can do something about

 

2. Issues that I am concerned about, that I am worried about, that affect my bigger world, but over which I have zero Influence.

 

If I focus on the issues in number two, then I only get frustrated, irritated, wound up, angry...

 

But if I adjust my attention to the things that I have control or influence over, I become powerful and productive and fruitful, regardless of the external situation and circumstances.

 

So what will you do?

035 How are you REALLY doing?

Last Friday I had an interview with my friend Ray Edwards. We talked about the current situation, how we are handling the extremes of clients and community facing loss amidst others whose businesses are growing in spite of it. 

What about conspiracies? 

What do you do when you are empty... when you have nothing left to give? How do you recognize that and what do you do about it?

What is hope? 

How do you get hope? 

What does a disaster do to a community? We can we expect on the other side of this? 

The new book - what is it about? How did it come to be? How did this happen?

And then.... Ray spontaneously proposes we launch a 30 day challenge around the chapters of the book. One per day. Thirty days.

I propose five days a week... starting in a week's time. 

Ray says, "How about now?" "How about Monday?" "How about 7am?"

The world is looking for us to lead with hope. Hope doesn't take the weekend off.

So we launched. Daily. 7am PST on Ray's page. Live. Free.

Here's the link. Join us tomorrow!

034 How Do We Do Family In Midst of Crisis?

In this episode, my wife, Janine and I openly talk about how we are leading our family, making decisions and navigating the range of emotions of ourselves and our four teenagers in the midst of uncertainty. 

To give you context, I am just out of self-isolation (literally three days ago). It was the weirdest experience ever - being isolated from my family who were themselves isolated as a result of the "Shelter-in-place" order of California governor. (Hear the story behind this from a previous podcast). This means we are working/schooling from home and have access to essential supplies such as medical, food, home supplies and outdoor exercise (and apparently hunting supplies, essential here in Northern CA). 

So how are we leading our family of four teenagers (13, 16, 17, 19)? Here, we reflect around seven areas of life. As you read or listen, consider your own area's to be intentional SO THAT over this period of time you will ADVANCE and INCREASE. The alternative is to run and hide or simply survive. We sincerely believe that in spite of what is going on, there is always something we can do to grow. So here's what we are doing...

Spiritual

- Sunday church online together. Our oldest daughter (19) goes to a different church so is doing their online service and bible study.

- Communion together a couple times a week

- Encouraging one another

- Journalling and scripture and praying individually

- Respecting one another's different approaches in connecting with God

Intellectual

- Kids doing school (1 x 8th grade, 1 x sophomore, 1 x senior, 1 x online college)

- Andy listens to audible books and podcasts and is reading John Adams

- Janine is reading novels... David Baldacci

Emotional

- Walking

- Digging a hole (Ben - 16!)

- Playing with puppy and other dogs

- Hugs

- Getting into the 'wild' - running somewhere beautiful

Physical 

- Walking

- Biking and mountain biking

- Digging

- Running

- Pushups, lunges...

- Ping pong

Financial

- Investing in book launch

- Updating financial accounts

- Ideating about what we can do if this crisis continues beyond another month

Relational

- Family meals, together

- Family games in the evenings - Nertz, Clue, 

- Family meeting weekly to talk about how everyone is doing and upcoming week

Relax-tional...

- Watching Blindspot on Hulu

- Playing ping pong

- Walking around the block

- Sitting in front of fire and reading a book or listening to music/audible

- Routine (get up, get dressed, do your hair, clean your room, do your dishes... school)

- Invest in something - project, learning (here's 450 Ivy League School courses for free!) and here's a TON of educational resources for kids (fb group).

So what about you? What are your goals for yourself, your marriage, your family at this time? 

And what other ideas do you have for any of these area's of life?

Brought to you by Gulf Coast Recreation, your playground expert.

 

033 How to Turn Chaos into Opportunity

Are you going through a significant challenge and want to know how to see an opportunity in this? Do you feel like your business has just burned to the ground and you have no idea what to do next? Well, welcome to the conversation! In this episode I interview Ryan Spitz of Shasta Trail Runs and California Untamed. He moved his family from San Diego to Redding in 2017. In 2018 he purchased an events business and after investing six months of time, effort the Carr Fire burned his business to the ground... literally. 

What he did next turned that chaos into the biggest opportunity of his life. 

Listen, learn and be encouraged!

To find out more about Heaven in Business and the growing online community, check out the free 14day trial at HeaveninBusiness.com/online

Remember: NEW BOOK - Finding Hope in Crazy Times, is coming out April 12th on Amazon and you can listen and read a free chapter on our website by clicking here.

Brought to you by Gulf Coast Recreation, your playground expert.

032 It's Not MY Risk to Decide

Last week I travelled to Europe... then everything changed. Here's what happened, what we did and how we decided. AND bonus content, my wife (Janine) joins me and we talk through how we are managing our family at this time, the balance of wisdom and faith and the steps we are taking for the short-term foreseeable future. #crazytimes

I was booked in to be keynote speaker at the first Heaven in Business Ukraine conference. They were expecting 250 people on the first day and double that at the public meetings the following day. On the way, I had planned a stopover in Germany staying with business friends and speaking with a local faith-based business group in Stuttgart. But after departing USA and arriving in Germany we received word that Ukraine government was cancelling all public meetings. BOOM. What would we do now? How would we even decide?

1. What are my options?

First step is to consider what I COULD do (bearing in mind, I have two international students at Bethel's Ministry School traveling with me).

A. Travel to Ukraine anyway and meet individually and/or with small team of leaders. Keep existing itinerary?

B. Travel to Netherlands and stay with business friends who were going to meet me in Ukraine. This couple are also instructors at our Heaven in Business Bootcamps?

C. Stay in Germany and serve the local business community?

D. Cancel all travel and return home immediately.

2. Who are the stakeholders?

In this situation the people concerned are primarily my wife/family, the team with me, and my German hosts. The Ukraine host had already communicated we will reschedule when the situation changes. 

Will the borders close? Will we be quarantined somewhere? Did we 'miss-it' even traveling this far? So many unknowns yet after meeting and praying with our German hosts and seeing what God immediately did, we definitely sensed we had made the right decision to come this far. 

3. What does God say?

I spoke with my team and our German hosts and we stood around the kitchen and prayed. All of us had the sense to stay in Germany to do the planned meeting there the following night and then talk to the local pastor if there was any way we could serve him over the weekend.

4. Make the decision keeping ears open...

My wife was in full support of us making the best decision in staying in Germany. At this point we were thinking until Monday (it was still Wednesday, and the business meeting was Thursday evening).

As I talked further with my wife we sensed it would NOT be good to stay over weekend and serve local church on the Sunday - they needed to hear from their own team and not a visitor/stranger at this time. So we made the decision to change our flights to return home to USA Friday evening. We let the pastor know and offered to minister to him and his team if the timing would work for them.

At the time the Friday flights were 90% empty. Our airline tried to charge an $1800 change fee but on asking to speak with the manager and having an amicable conversation, they dropped the fee and confirmed the flights. We would arrive back in USA at 9pm on Friday 13th.

What happened?

We woke Thursday morning to news that USA was closing the border to foreigners at midnight Friday 13th. Our decision just 12 hours earlier meant we would arrive just 3 hours before the policy change! Not only that, the plane was now filling up FAST and the price to rebook or change seats suddenly doubled.

Phew! Thank God for wise decisions!

The Thursday evening meeting was excellent. The topic was last weeks podcast: 7 Keys to Find Hope in Crazy Times.

We arrived back in USA after reading the Center for Disease Control guidelines and expecting to be given information or told that we need to self-isolate. But... nothing. It was the OPPOSITE of what we expected - no information, no handout, close proximity lines as per normal airport navigation. I was confused. If this is so serious, why is the gateway wide-open and ZERO management in place???

So what did we do next - AT HOME?

I was shocked at the contrast between Government and CDC statements and what I experienced at the airport. 

What should I do at home? Do I follow CDC self-isolation guidelines or interact with others as normal? Was I REALLY any threat to my community? Here's my process:

I am part of a large organization in my city and I have a daughter with a heart condition… so I will be self isolating in my own house for the next two weeks. I am not happy. This is not fun. This seems absolutely crazy. But this is not about me. It’s not my personal risk. It’s about slowing down the spread of the virus as best as possible to protect those vulnerable and to allow the medical profession to get a handle on how to control it. It is very highly likely that I am perfectly healthy. But that 0.01% chance of introducing the virus to my daughter…who works in the food industry... or to the husband of my employee… or to the grandmother of my neighbor… is not worth the risk. In other words, my discomfort and isolation for two weeks is a lower cost than the cost of my daughter or community member being affected through me.

So here we go. Two weeks from my bedroom (and forays into the recreation area behind my house...).

Stay healthy, stay hope filled, stay wise. 

Finally here's your daily prescription:

READ and PRAY Psalm 91.

SHARE communion with family - Jesus blood paid for this in full!

CALL a friend or colleague and encourage them in midst of this.

You are not alone. 

Brought to you by Gulf Coast Recreation, your playground expert.